Chapter 21
Sid heard someone moving around downstairs and Chiefy let out a low bark. Grace sat upright and looked around the room. Chiefy ran to her and got some morning hugs and kisses.
Grace turned to him and smiled. ”Good morning.”
”Good morning. You look beautiful.”
She laughed. ”I doubt that, but it sure feels good to hear it.”
He sat up and pulled her close. His lips met hers and Chiefy whined. Grace chuckled and he pulled back, reluctantly.
”You get dressed. I”ll take Chiefy outside.”
”Thank you. I can do it if you”d like to rest a while longer.”
He stared into her eyes, still happy to look into them and still so enamored with the color. ”No. I”ll go down and talk to Jace for a bit. Do you like coffee in the morning?”
”Yes. I do. Just cream, no sugar.”
”You got it.” He pulled back the covers and reached for his clothes as the bathroom door closed.
Pulling on his sweatpants and t-shirt from last night, he chuckled as Chiefy pranced around. ”Come on pretty girl, let”s get you outside.”
Chiefy jumped up and her tail thumped as she followed him down the stairs. He turned left as Jace directed last night and found the kitchen at the back of the house.
Jace sat at the kitchen table in front of a window, a cup of coffee in front of him, and the paper opened on the table.
”Good morning. I hope I didn”t wake you.”
Sid chuckled. ”No. We want to get an early start of it today. And Chiefy needs to go out. We”ll be right back in.”
He opened the back door which led into a sunroom. Or actually a Florida room, because it had actual windows in it.
Opening the door that led outside, Chiefy bounded out to the back yard and ran around, sniffing at everything. He looked at the beautiful landscaping and area. You”d never know this house was basically in the middle of town. The way it was situated on a cul-de-sac and surrounded by palm trees, it looked like a dense woods from the outside. He chuckled. Leave it to Jace to find this little gem in town.
Chiefy finally peed but continued to sniff. He wanted a cup of coffee and to chat with Jace, but he let Chiefy have some fun before calling her inside.
Finally, Chiefy looked up to see if he was still there and that”s when he patted his leg. ”Come on, girl. Let”s go in.”
She ran to him and he thought once more what a great dog she was. So well- behaved.
As they entered the house once more, Jace stood at the coffee pot refilling his cup. ”You want one?”
”Yes. Please. Grace will be down in a minute too.”
”Two coffees coming up. I”ll pour, but you”ll have to doctor it on your own.”
Sid chuckled. ”Deal.”
Jace poured and Sid sat at the table to stay out of the way. Jace moved from the coffee pot, leaving the two poured coffees on the counter and Sid stood and poured cream in one, and left his black.
”Thanks for letting us stay here last night. We appreciate it.”
”I meant it when I said it”s no problem. I have this big place to myself and it”s nice knowing there are others in the house besides my old bones rattling around in here.”
”I get it.”
Jace closed the newspaper and looked across the table at his friend. ”So, what”s the future plan?”
Sid shrugged and sipped his coffee. ”Immediate future is to make sure these guys don”t harm Grace or Chiefy.” He glanced at Chiefy who was sniffing the rugs in the kitchen. ”I”m not sure how to do that. But, I”m going to do what I can.”
”Okay. What about after that?”
Sid chuckled. ”You mean am I staying here in Blossom Springs?”
”Yeah.”
He looked his friend in the eye. ”I”d like to. I”m calmer here - bikers aside. It”s a nice little town. I don”t have anyone back home. I like the Garage, and if I wanted to, I”m sure Coop would hire me.”
Jace nodded. ”Here you have Quinn and me.”
”Yep.” He sipped his coffee again. ”I wouldn”t move here for you two old farts though.”
Jace laughed. ”Can”t say I blame you.”
Grace entered the kitchen looking fresh and beautiful as usual. Chiefy ran to her and she petted her pup, and gave her a kiss on the top of the head. ”Good morning.” She pointed to the cup of coffee on the counter and Sid nodded.
His attention was on Grace as she carried her coffee to the table. She”d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She wore a clean pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. She had tennis shoes on her feet and if he didn”t know she was fifty he would easily have said forty. He pulled the chair out next to him and she sat down. She sipped her coffee and Sid watched her. He enjoyed watching her.
Jace chuckled and Sid turned to look at his friend, who had been watching him. Not much got by Jace.
”Jace, how is the bar doing? I mean, you have this magnificent house, but is the bar responsible or was this from money you had saved?”
”A little of both. The bar is going well. I sold my little bar in Missouri before I came down here. I had cash, and nothing to do, as it was. My plan wasn”t to buy a bar, but to kick around for a while and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My divorce was a killer.”
Sid nodded. ”I remember.”
”But, as it turned out, the old man who owned the bar wanted to sell it and I found I sort of liked it here. As I keep renovating and expanding, the bar continues to grow, which is great. We”re adding food choices all the time and the patrons are telling us they love what we”re doing. Plus, the location is everything and then some. I just have to keep the place from getting run down, and that the location pulls people to it. Plus, I”ve met some musicians here. They work out of the barn at the end of Sunset Beach Road. Tony, the manager, lives in the bungalow next to you for the time being. I guess he”s building a house of his own now, so he won”t be there long. And the lead singer, Jami Hart, lives in the farmhouse in front of the barn. They have been coming down here when they”re in town and playing gigs on the beach. That”s becoming something I need to get more serious about. Having regular music.”
Grace smiled sweetly. ”I think live music on the beach would be wonderful.”
Jace nodded. ”I agree. So, before I begin to offer that on a regular basis, I need to make sure I can book the bands I want regularly. That”s the next step I think, in the evolution of Sarge”s Sandbar.”
Grace laughed. ”Why do you call it Sarge”s?”
Jace shrugged and Sid chuckled. ”We had a friend in the service who just couldn”t seem to make it past the rank of sergeant. After he was passed up for a few promotions it became a joke. Then, he decided he liked being called Sarge, so that”s what we all called him. He died two years ago and it sort of broke my heart a bit. I liked him. So, Sarge”s Sandbar it is. Plus, most people don”t know I”m not Sarge and that gives me a bit of anonymity.”
Sid nodded and Grace turned to him. ”Did you know Sarge too?”
He chuckled. ”I did. He was a likable guy, but he was not ambitious in the least. Which is why he never rose in rank. He knew that too.”